Let’s continue on our journey this Saturday 15 Jan 2022 into the past, present and future lives and the bardo (which is the intermediate state between any two lives), as we continue to focus on the factors that influence the realms of one’s rebirth.
Topic: Past, Present & Future Lives and Navigating the Bardo State (Part 6)
Time: Sat 15 Jan 2022
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A. OPENING TEACHINGS
Geshe la reminded the Class that it is important before any Dharmic activity, to prepare one’s frame of mind, to imbue it with positive motivations and intent – that is why we always begin our classes with the Refuge Prayer, as we Take Refuge in the Triple Gem. It is equally important after having generated merits from any Dharmic activity, to dedicate such merits to all sentient beings.
On that note, Geshe la began the teachings proper.
Geshe la reminded us of the 5 factors that affect the realms into which one may take rebirth, namely and by way of reminder, (1) the cause of one’s death, (2) state of the mind at the time of the consciousness leaving the body – whether it was peaceful wishing well upon all other sentient beings versus harbouring anger towards any individual(s) etc, (3) where the consciousness and bodily heat leaves the body from at the time of clinical death, (4) The bardo entity’s journey without a physical body before conception, and (5) Transference of the consciousness into a womb i.e. conception, as already explained earlier during Part 3 of our class held on 25 December 2021.
During the last class, we talked about factor no. (2) above. We saw how the consciousness becomes most subtle before it becomes the bardo entity transiting between two lives. We talked about the importance of having the consciousness have a calm and kind disposition at or around the time of death, and the different ways to help the consciousness achieve this. Apart from those mentioned before, we can also include placing before the dying person, an image or thangka of the relevant Buddha or Bodhisattva whose practice the dying person had been engaging in during his life. Equally beneficial would be playing the mantras of the Buddha or Bodhisattva that that individual had been devoted to during his or her life. One of the most powerful mantras is actually that of Shakyamuni Buddha, namely “Tayatha Om Muni Muni Maha Muni Ye Soha”. This has the power to purify aeons and aeons of negative karma which is important during this crucial time. There are many more techniques in our tantric tradition that can help the consciousness find a higher realm of rebirth which we deal with below.
On the issue of funerals and respect for the dying (and the dead), it is important for one to ask a dying person how what kind of funeral (by reference to religious tradition) they wish to have while they are still of sound mind and conscious This is very important because these days, we see many families where the dying may be of a certain religious faith, but his or her children may be of another religious faith. It is important to respect the wishes of the dying in terms of their wishes for post clinical death arrangements, as it will go a long way to have the departed’s consciousness achieve calmness and avoid any grief of unsatisfaction being unnecessarily caused to him or her – these can affect the dying’s state of mind or the consciousness of the bardo entity post death.
Geshe la shared the story of an elderly lady who was a devout Buddhist, whose children were all of another faith. The elderly lady had gone as far as to include instructions as to funeral arrangements (to be placed exclusively in the hands of a given Buddhist Centre) as she was concerned about what her children would do otherwise. This illustrates how important one’s post death affairs can mean to one, and it is important to respect these wishes – that is a principle that must be applied equally when the dying person is of a religious faith other than Buddhism – it is crucial to always respect the dying person’s wishes.
B. THE 3rd FACTOR AFFECTING REBIRTH – HOW BODILY HEAT DISSIPATES FROM THE BODY
We often see two ways that things can pan out.
The 1st situation is where one’s head becomes cold first and then the body loses heat gradually that way (up to down). The 2nd situation is where one’s feet turn cold first, and the body loses its heat gradually from a (down to up) direction. The 1st situation comes to those with a greater negative karmic bank. Those who experience the 2nd situation have a greater positive karmic bank.
We talked a few lessons ago about trying as far as possible to avoid placing the body of the clinically dead into the ice cold mortuary immediately after clinical death. It is advisable to try to leave the body in room temperature for 2-3 hours before taking it to the morgue – otherwise it may unwittingly create the causes for that consciousness to take rebirth in the cold hells.
Geshe la then gave some insight into the different types of burials and the significance behind each of them. Geshe la explained that as most of us are aware, the body can be disposed of by cremation, underground burial, water burial or sky burial – the last category is common in Tibet and the Himalayas. Geshe la shared a few anecdotes about the sky burials.
– Sky Burials
Sky burials are usually a quick process – it takes about 20 minutes for the entire of a corpse to be devoured by the vultures. The leader of the flock of vultures will come to the body and sniff it to see if it is fit to eat. If it is, it will take its first bite, and the other vultures will come to partake in the meal.
But behind this apparently macabre manner of disposing a corpse lie very deep teachings in our tantric tradition which assist us in severing our attachment to the body (and the self or the ego); the ritual also has the effect of generation of merit for the departed by offering the body not just to the vultures but to wisdom beings such as the Buddhas and Bodhisatvas and heavenly deities (dakas and dakinis). This principle is the basis of a certain type of ritual in our tradition known as Chod (断法) which is based on the concept of severing one’s body and offering up one’s body (to which we are most attached) to the divine, thereby aiding one in cognizing emptiness as the true nature of all phenomenon.
Yet, in some situations, sky burials are also not possible even in our tradition and in the Himalayas. E.g. the individual may died of contagious diseases. The vultures also don’t eat if they smell something untoward and this can be due to causes other than viruses or diseases. There are occasions when the burial is to be carried out but the vultures don’t come. It is common for lamas to be commissioned to perform certain rituals to invite the vultures. But there have been occasions when despite these rituals, the vultures don’t appear or even if they do, they do not partake in eating the corpse’s flesh. This is usually indicative that the individual who died had grave negative karma such as disrespect to his root guru or committed the heavy karma of killing.
– Cremation of Ordinary Folk
In our tradition, bodies that have to be cremated are usually those that died from contagious diseases. There are designated cremation areas in the Himalayas for this purpose. There are certain areas where the deities of Chakrasamvara (胜乐金刚)and Yamantaka (大威德金刚)manifest that are considered particularly auspicious, by way of example.
– Water Burials
Water burials are still practised in certain regions in Tibetan regions of Qinghai Province, and also have the element of offering of one’s remains back to nature and indeed to the divine.
– Cremation of Enlightened Masters
Other than the above, there is a special kind of cremation ritual for enlightened masters who had, prior to their death, been in the state of Thukdam. These cremations are special in that a stupa for the purpose of burning the body will be constructed. The master’s remains will be placed in the funeral pyre, and the ritual is coupled with a fire puja (homa rite), and is essentially an offering of the highest order. Not many are eligible for this type of cremation.
As can be seen, the funeral and how a body is disposed is very important in influencing the next realm of rebirth in our tradition.
C. THE 4th FACTOR AFFECTING REBIRTH – THE BARDO ENTITY’S JOURNEY/ ROUTE
Upon clinical death, it is time for the consciousness to assume the bardo state proper. What the bardo entity encounters is also important in terms of its realm of rebirth. To understand this better, it is helpful to learn a few things about bardo beings as expounded upon in the sutras and the tantras.
– Bodily Appearance
The “body” of the bardo state does not have a gross body like us human beings, but it will nonetheless have some bodily shape or form. How it appears to an observer, to the extent an observer can see it, is dependent on where it is destined for rebirth.
A bardo entity en route to becoming human in the next life, will assume the “body” of a human being, but will be smaller in size than an adult human being. One destined to be reborn as an animal in the next life will assume the “body” of that relevant animal. Those destined to be reborn as hungry ghosts will also assume that hungry ghostly form, and so on and so forth.
Bardo entities that are destined to be reborn in the same realm in the next life, are capable of seeing one another, but not otherwise. In other words, the bardo entity of one destined to be human in the next life can see another bardo entity that is also destined to be human in the next life, but he or she cannot see a bardo entity of an animal for example.
The bardo entity is actually imbued with a host of special abilities. Some have this due to their spiritual attainments but others generally have these powers due to the powers of karma. They are able to go through walls and their movements are not restrained by geography – they can travel across thousands of miles simply through the power of their thought/ intent. It is only after they transfer into a womb that they will be thenceforth restricted in their movements.
– Colour of the Different Bardo Entities
As regards the colour of bardo entities, those bardo entities destined for the Hells are the colour of black charcoal. Those destined for rebirth in the Hungry Ghost Realm appear watery. Those to be reborn as Animals appear smoky or grey in colour. Those destined for the Human Realm are gold in colour. Those destined for the Heavenly Realms as devas are white in colour.
If the bardo entity is destined for lower rebirths, there are dark aspects of these entities – they exude an aura of darkness that comes from the lack of purity in their hearts. On the contrary, those destined for higher rebirths have a white aura, that is neither too warm nor cold, akin to the moonlight on a full moon night.
– Ways of Walking of the Different Bardo Entities
The bardo entities also walk differently. Those bound for heavenly realms walk as if moving upwards with each step. Those destined for the human realm walk straight parallel to level ground, like we do. Those destined for the hungry ghosts move downwards with each forward step. Those bound for the hells have their heads and feet inverted, and walk upside down.
– Life-spans of the bardo entities
Each bardo entity lives for 7 days, and the bardo entity dies and lives again at the end of 7 days, but there are 7 cycles of this experience altogether, so the bardo entity has a life span of 49 days (by earth reckoning) at the maximum.
Those with a very strong positive karmic bank balance will take rebirth in the higher realms very quickly. The reverse is true for those with a very negative karmic bank balance who will take rebirth very quickly in the lower realms.
For the vast majority, they may remain in this state for some time, but that also means that there is a window of opportunity for us to create better conditions for the bardo entity, already destined to become human, to be reborn into better families, such as through special prayers.
For instance, a bardo entity may not have met parents with whom he or she has a karmic connection appropriate for a parent-child relationship in the first two sets of 7 days. In these circumstances, it is possible for that bardo entity to be reborn the next round as a bardo entity destined for the animal realm, to animal parents with whom it has a karmic connection appropriate for a parent-child relationship. This can happen due to the change in his or her karmic conditions during the initial 7/14 days. That entity can lose the chance to take rebirth as a human being.
In these kinds of situations, it is possible to ameliorate these challenges by prayers organised by that bardo entity’s relatives – the positive karmic seeds created by the entity’s relatives can benefit that particular bardo entity. This is why it is extremely important to do whatever we can for the departed during these 49 days, and it is common, amongst other things, for rituals aimed at such situations to take place at every 7 day interval.
Geshe la then gave some guidance on how to reckon the 49 days and the 7 cycles of 7 days. There are 2 main ways of reckoning time. The 1st is by way of days from the day of death. The 2nd is by running hours from the time one died.
Say if someone died on Saturday 15 Jan 2022 – by the 1st kind of reckoning, the following Saturday, 22 Jan 2022 would be the end of the first cycle of seven days and entering into the second cycle of 7 days. The 2nd way of calculation would be by reference to 24 hour periods.
The 1st method of calculation reflects the Chinese way of calculation whilst the 2nd method of calculation reflects the Indian manner of calculation.
We witness similar differences when one reckons one’s birthday – by the Chinese lunar tradition, one’s lunar age is deemed to have gone up by one year once the Lunar New Year has come. But by the solar or Gregorian calendar’s reckoning, one’s age by the solar calendar increases only after one’s birthday has come and passed.
In our tradition, the correct way of calculation the 7 day cycles is not by 24 hour periods, but by the number of days passed from the date of death, regardless of the actual time of death.
Returning to this example, the bardo entity that died on Saturday will die and enter its next bardo entity state after the midnight of the following Saturday. This is the correct manner of reckoning of the bardo cycles in our tradition.
Geshe la then went on to discuss certain traditional sayings that have their roots in folklore and perhaps other religious tradition, but are in fact not Buddhist in origin. One may have heard of the saying that on the 7th day it will return to its original home. But that has no truth on that, if one bases one’s belief in the Buddhist sutras and the tantras. The bardo entity is a busy entity during these 49 days. It won’t have the time to visit its relatives. If one sees an entity assuming the form of the deceased visiting one’s home after the deceased had departed, that entity is more likely than not, not the consciousness of the departed but of someone else, so please pay heed to this. This phenomenon can be illustrated by an event that occurred during the time of Milarepa the Buddhist saint (1052 AD – 1135AD).
During the days of Milarepa, there was some tension between the Buddhist pandits and the believers of the local religion in Tibet, namely Bon. There was an old man, a disciple of Milarepa, whose family ascribed to the Bon faith. The patriarch was the only exception in the family as he had converted to Buddhism and was a devoted disciple of Milarepa. The old patriarch died one day, and because the family was of the Bon faith, they invited a Bon priest to perform a ritual to invite the consciousness of the departed patriarch to return to have a dialogue with his family. The Bon ritualist claimed that they were the superior of the two religions, as they were able to summon the consciousness of the departed. Milarepa heard of this, and went along with his disciple to the scene and invited the Bon ritualist to conjure the patriarch’s departed consciousness again.
Upon the arrival of the consciousness, Milarepa questioned the emanated consciousness of certain events relating to his own empowerments received from Milarepa himself. The spirit was unable to answer the questions, and fled from the scene. Milarepa and the entourage gave chase to the entity, and it was revealed subsequently that the so-called bardo entity was not in fact the consciousness of the patriarch who had recently departed, but was in fact a fox spirit.
Milarepa was then invited to come to the house and was asked by the patriarch’s family to reveal where the patriarch had taken rebirth. Milarepa through his powers of clairvoyance, was able to ascertain that the patriarch had rather unfortunately taken rebirth as a worm which was at that material time, immersed under cow dung in a nearby shed! The family went immediately to the animal shed, and managed to identify such a worm! Milarepa called out to the worm and beckoned it to come to Milarepa. The worm made its way to Milarepa who took it into his hand, entered into a meditative state and performed the Amitabha Phowa for the transference of its consciousness to the Western Pure Lands.
It is a tale of considerable importance and illustrates the unlikelihood of a consciousness returning home after its 7th day of death. There may well be situations where the consciousness will go home after the 7th day – this is not impossible. But many of these cases are cases of impersonation whereby non-human consciousnesses impersonate the consciousness of the departed in order to obtain offerings of food etc through such trickery. We should therefore always be cautious of such claims, at least from a Buddhist perspective.
Finally, there are certain situations where spirits which may have been following the recently deceased up until his or her death, and may cling on to possessions of the recently departed. These situations call for certain rituals to beseech such spirits to depart from the dwellings and possessions of the living relatives of the departed. These spirits would have been there to carry out their impure intent to harm the deceased as well as the living relatives who are left behind. By Buddhist reckoning, this is the most common explanation for the phenomenon of an apparently “returning” consciousness on the 7th day following death.
D. THE 5th FACTOR AFFECTING REBIRTH – TRANSFERENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS INTO THE WOMB
We talked about this process in some detail in our class of 25 December 2021, and the point here is that the bardo entity finishes its journey when it develops attraction and aversion for its father or mother (as may be the case depending on whether the bardo entity is to be born male or female) upon seeing the sexual organs of its parents – conception is achieved and the bardo entity’s is so transferred into the womb, thus beginning its journey again in samsara.
E. CONCLUSIONS
As previously discussed, once the deceased has departed, it is common for us to do a divination to see which Buddhist deities are best propitiated to assist the consciousness in obtaining further merit towards an auspicious rebirth. We will also look at an auspicious date for the funeral, how to avoid unwittingly offending local spirits such as nagas and rakashas. These are all practices within our tradition aimed at assisting both the consciousness of the departed and his or her family avoid creating obstacles for themselves.
Geshe la expressed the view that understanding the cycle of life and death, and the bardo state, is important as it gives us a working knowledge of how to assist ourselves when we get to that day, and also to assist others on this path. Most fundamentally, it makes us reflect on the impermanence of all conditioned phenomenon, and encourages us to always take the path of virtue, performing acts of kindness to others, rather than causing harm to others that often arises when one’s ignorance draws one to (mistakenly) believe that we are independently existing entities, independent of others and other conditions. It helps us reflect on the importance of the laws of cause and effect, the impact of our acts and/or omissions on our karmic bank balance, and gives us the courage to navigate life in samsara.
Geshe la concluded the lesson by advising that this will be the last session of this season of Dharma Talks during the year of the Bull, and expressed gratitude to everyone for supporting these talks, whether by attendance or by reading the notes of these teachings.
Our next season of Dharma talks will continue on Sat, 19 February 2022 in the Year of the Tiger, when we will focus on the different ways in which we can create more merit, and purify our past negative karma, including what may appear to be odd practices of hoisting of prayer flags (Tib: Lungta) etc.
It leaves Geshe la and the Centre to wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year, and may the Year of the Tiger bring only success, good health and auspicious conditions to everyone, and may the obstacles and negative seeds of the past all be removed and purified.
May the merits of this teaching bring benefit to all of you, your families and loved ones.
The Maha Tare Team
A. 開課
格西拉提醒學員,在進行任何佛法活動之前,重要的是要準備好自己的心態,以積極的動機和意圖灌輸它——這就是為什麼我們總是以皈依祈禱(發願皈依三寶)開始我們的課程。同樣重要的是,在任何佛法活動中產生了功德之後,將這些功德迴向一切有情眾生。
以皈依三寶為始,格西拉開始了今天的教法。
格西拉提醒我們五個因素會影響一個人可能投生到的領域,即1)一個人的死緣,(2)死心,意識離開時身體時的心境 – 例如是和平祝愿所有其他眾生還是對任何人懷有憤怒等,(3)臨床死亡時心識和身體熱量從身體離開,(4)中有受孕前沒有身體的旅程,以及 (5) 生有,將意識轉移到子宮中,即受孕,這部分在我們在 2021 年 12 月 25 日舉行的第 三 部分課程中已經解釋。
在上一節課上,我們談到了上述第(2) 點。我們看到了心識在成為在兩個生命之間轉換的中陰身之前是如何變得極其微妙的。我們討論了讓心識在死亡時或死亡前後保持冷靜和善良的重要性,以及幫助心識實現這一目標的不同方法。除了前面提到的,我們還可以在臨終者面前放置一幅臨終者生前所修行的本尊佛菩薩像或唐卡。同樣有益的是,讓臨終者聽到其一生信仰的佛陀或菩薩的咒語。最強大的咒語之一實際上是釋迦牟尼佛的咒語,即“Tayatha Om Muni Muni Maha Muni Ye Soha” (嗡牟尼牟尼嘛哈牟尼耶梭哈),其具有淨化萬世和累世的負面業力的力量,這在這個關鍵時刻非常重要。在我們的密宗傳統中還有更多的技巧可以幫助心識投生到善趣,我們將在下面討論。
在葬禮和對臨終安排的問題上,最重要的是應當尊重臨終者,他們頭腦清醒的情況下詢問他們希望舉行什麼樣的葬禮和儀軌,遵從什麼宗教傳統。這一點非常重要,因為如今,我們看到許多家庭的臨終者可能信仰某種宗教,但他或她的孩子可能信仰另一種宗教。尊重臨終者對臨終後安排的意願很重要,因為這將大大有助於使逝者的意識達到平靜並避免不必要地對他或她造成任何不滿意或傷害——這些可以影響臨終者的心境或中陰身死後的心識。
格西拉分享了一位虔誠佛教徒的老婦人的故事,她的孩子們有不同於她的信仰。這位年長的女士將葬禮安排的指示交由特定的佛教中心負責,以免孩子們做出其他安排。這說明了一個人的死後事務對一個人的重要性,尊重這些願望很重要——當臨終者信奉佛教以外的宗教信仰時,這一原則必須同樣適用——至關重要的是要始終尊重臨終者的意願。
B. 影響重生的第三個因素——身體熱量的消散
我們經常看到的兩種方式是:一頭部先變冷,然後身體逐漸失去熱量(從上到下);第二種情況是腳先涼,身體由下往上逐漸散去熱量。第一種情況出現在那些惡業比較重的人身上。經歷第二種情況的人是善業比較多。
幾節課前我們談到了盡量避免臨床死者的屍體在臨床死亡後立即放入冰冷的太平間。建議將身體在室溫下放置 2-3 小時,然後再將其帶到太平間 – 否則可能會在不知不覺中造成該心識在寒冷的寒冰地獄中受苦。
格西拉隨後對不同類型的葬儀以及每種背後的意義進行了一些深入的講解。格西拉解釋說,正如我們大多數人所知道的,屍體可以通過火葬、地下埋葬、水葬或天葬進行處理——最後一種方式在西藏和喜馬拉雅山很常見。格西拉分享了一些關於天葬的軼事。
– 天葬
天葬通常是一個快速的過程——整具屍體被禿鷹吃掉大約需要20分鐘。禿鷹群的首領會來到屍體前嗅它,看它是否適合吃。如果是,它會咬第一口,其他禿鷹就會跟著一起吃。
但在這種看似可怕的屍體處理方式背後,隱藏著我們密宗傳統中非常深刻的教義,這些教義幫助我們切斷對身體(以及自我)的執著。該儀式還具有為死者產生功德的作用,不僅將身體供養給禿鷹,而且供養佛、菩薩和天神(空行母)等智慧眾生。這個原則是我們傳統中一種稱為斷法的儀式的基礎,它基於切斷自己的身體並將自己的身體(我們最依戀的身體)奉獻給神的概念,從而幫助一個人認識到空性是所有現象的真實本質。
然而,在某些情況下,即使在我們的傳統和喜馬拉雅山脈中,天葬也是不可能的。例如,亡者死於傳染病。另外如果禿鷹聞到難聞的氣味 (這可能是病毒或疾病以外的原因造成的)它們就不吃。有時要進行天葬,但禿鷹不來,喇嘛會被委託進行某些儀式以邀請禿鷹。但是有些時候,儘管有這些儀式,禿鷹還是沒有出現,或者即使出現了,它們也不吃屍體的肉。這通常表示死者有嚴重的惡業,例如不尊重他的根本上師或犯下嚴重的殺業。
– 普通民俗火葬
在我們的傳統中,必須火化的屍體通常是死於傳染病的屍體。為此目的,喜馬拉雅山有指定的火葬區。例如,勝樂金剛和大威德金剛的聖地被認為是特別吉祥的。
– 水葬
青海省藏區的部分地區仍存在水葬,並具有將遺體歸還自然乃至神靈的含義。
– 開明上師的火葬
除了上述之外,還有一種特殊的火葬儀式,供那些在死前處於三摩地的覺悟大師。這些火葬的特殊之處在於將建造一座用於焚燒屍體的佛塔。大師的遺體將被放置在火葬柴堆中,儀式伴隨著特定的儀軌(火祭),以及最好的火供的供品。沒有多少人有資格進行這種火葬。
可以看出,葬禮和屍體的處理方式對於影響我們傳統中的下一個重生領域非常重要。
C. 影響重生的第四個因素——中陰實體/中陰身的旅程
在臨床死亡時,心識離開血肉之軀是時候進入中陰身。中陰身之後的轉世領域對中陰身很重要。為了更好地理解這一點,了解一些有關中陰身的事情是有幫助的,正如經典和密續中所闡述的那樣。
– 身體外觀
中陰狀態的“身體”不像我們人類那樣具有實體,但它仍然具有某種身體形狀或形式。它外觀看起來如何取決於它注定要投生的來世。
一個在來世成為人類的中陰身,將呈現人類的“身體”,但體型會比成年人小。一個注定在下一世投生為動物的人將承擔該相關動物的“身體”。那些注定要投生為餓鬼的人,也將化為餓鬼形,以此類推。
命中註定在下一世重生於同一領域的中陰身能夠看到彼此,但不能看到其他領域的中陰身。換句話說,一個來世注定為人的中陰身可以看到另一個來世也注定為人的中陰身,但他或她看不到來世為動物的中陰身。
中陰身充滿了許多特殊能力。有些人的中陰身因為他們的精神成就而擁有神通,但其他人通常因為業力的力量而擁有這些神通。他們能夠穿牆而過,他們的行動不受地理限制——他們可以通過他們的思想/意圖的力量穿越數千英里。只有在他們進入子宮之後,他們的行動才會受到父精母血的限製而墮入輪迴。
– 不同中陰身的顏色
至於中陰身的顏色,那些注定要前往地獄的中陰身是焦炭的顏色。那些注定要往生餓鬼界的人,是水的顏色。那些重生為動物的人看起來是灰色的。那些注定要去人界的,都是金色的。那些注定要成為天界的天人是白色的。
如果中陰身注定要轉世惡趣,則內心所顯現的是黑暗的一片。如果中陰身要投身善趣,那麼內心所顯現的是潔白的明亮,猶如月光,既不冷也不熱。
– 不同中陰身的行走方式
中陰身的行走方式也不同。那些去天界的人,每一步都像是在往上走一樣。那些注定要往人間走的人,和我們一樣,平行於平地。那些注定要餓鬼的人,每一步都往下移動。往地獄者,頭足顛倒,顛倒而行。
– 中陰身的壽命
每個中陰身活 7 天,中陰身在 7 天結束時死去並再次復活,但這種體驗總共有 7 個循環,因此中陰身的總的壽命為 49 天(按地球推算)最大值。
那些擁有非常強大的善業的人將很快投身善趣。那些惡業比較多的人,他們也將很快投生到惡趣。
對於絕大多數人來說,他們可能會保持這種中陰身狀態一段時間,但這也意味著我們有機會為已經註定要成為人類的中陰身創造更好的條件,投生到更好的家庭(例如通過特殊的祈禱)。
例如,如果在前兩組 7 天中,中陰身沒有遇到與他或她有適合親子關係的業力聯繫的父母。在這種情況下,該中陰身有可能在下一輪投生為動物的中陰身,以便與動物父母有適合親子關係的業力聯繫。這可能是由於他或她在最初的 7/14 天內業力狀況的變化而發生的。該中陰身可能會失去重生為人類的機會。
在這種情況下,可以通過由該中陰身的親屬組織的祈禱來增強善業——由該中陰身生前的親屬創造的善業可以使該特定的中陰身受益。這就是為什麼在這 49 天裡盡我們所能為死者修法強大善業是非常重要的,因此做七是非常重要的。
格西拉接著就如何計算 49 天和 7 天的 7 個週期給出了一些指導。計算時間的主要方法有兩種。第一是從死亡之日起的七天。第二個是從一個人死亡的時間開始按小時計算。
假設有人在 2022 年 1 月 15 日星期六去世——按照第一種推算,接下來的 2022 年 1 月 22 日星期六將結束第一個 7 天週期並進入第二個 7 天週期。第二種計算方式是參考 24 小時周期。
第一種計算方法反映了中國的計算方法,而第二種計算方法反映了印度的計算方法。
當一個人算生日時,我們也看到了類似的差異——按照中國的農曆傳統,農曆新年一到,一個人的農曆年齡就被認為增加了一歲。但是按照陽曆或公曆的推算,一個人的陽曆年齡只有在一個人的生日到來和過去之後才會增加。
在我們的傳統中,計算 7 天週期的正確方法不是按 24 小時為周期,而是按從死亡之日起經過的天數,而不考慮實際的死亡時間。
回到這個例子,週六死亡的中陰身將在下一個星期六的午夜之後死亡並進入下一個中陰身。這是我們傳統中計算中陰週期的正確方法。
格西拉接著討論了某些源自民間傳說或其他宗教傳統的說法(並非源自佛教)。譬如,聽說過七日歸家的說法。但是,如果一個人修持佛經和密宗的信仰,就知道那是沒有道理的,因為在這 49 天裡,中陰身是很忙碌的。它為了投生沒有時間去看望它的親戚。如果在死者離開後看到一個實體以死者的形式訪問自己的家,那個實體很可能不是死者的心識而是其他非人,所以請注意這一點。佛教聖徒密勒日巴時期(公元 1052 年 – 公元 1135 年)發生的事件講到過這一點。在密勒日巴時代,佛教徒與西藏當地宗教即本教的信徒之間存在一些緊張關係。有一位老族長,他是密勒日巴虔誠的弟子,他皈依了佛教,但他的家人都信奉本教。某日老族長去世,因家族信奉本教,便請了一位本教法師進行儀式,邀請已故族長的心識回來與家人對話。本教法師聲稱他們的宗教更厲害,因為他們能夠召喚死者的心識。密勒日巴聞言,便與弟子們一同前去,請本教法師再次喚死者心識。心識到達後,密勒日巴問了一些老族長從密勒日巴本人獲得的灌頂有關的問題。但該非人靈體無法回答這些問題,便逃離了現場。密勒日巴一行人追上來後發現,所謂的“歸家靈魂”其實並不是剛剛離去的族長的意識,而是狐狸精。
然後密勒日巴被邀請到家裡,並被族長的家人要求透露族長的重生地點。密勒日巴通過他的千里眼,能夠確定老族長不幸投生為一條蟲,浸沒在附近棚子的牛糞下!一家人立即趕到畜棚,竟然發現了這麼一條蟲子!密勒日巴呼喚蟲子,示意它上前。蟲子即刻行到密勒日巴身邊,密勒日巴把它拿在手上,進入禪修狀態,修持阿彌陀佛遷識法,將其意識轉移到西方淨土。
這是一個相當重要的故事,說明了意識在死亡第 7 天后返回家園的可能性。在某些情況下,意識會在第 7 天后回家——這並非不可能。但是這些案例中有許多是冒充的或者是假的,非人類的意識冒充死者的心識,以便通過這種詭計獲得食物等的供養。因此,至少從佛教的角度來看,我們應該始終對這種說法保持謹慎。
最後,在某些情況下,非人可能會一直跟隨最近去世的人直到他或她去世,並且可能會依附在最近去世的人的財產上。這些情況需要某些儀式來遮蔽這些非人,使其離開死者在世親屬的住所和財產。因為這些非人可能會有不淨意圖,危害死者的親戚。按照佛教的說法,這是對所謂死後第 7 天“意識回歸“現象的最常見解釋。
D. 影響重生的第五個因素——意識進入子宮
我們在 2021 年 12 月 25 日的課堂上詳細討論了這個過程,這裡的重點是中陰身在對其父親或母親產生吸引力和厭惡時完成了它的旅程(這可能決定了中陰身是否將生為男性或女性)在看到其父母的性器官後 – 受孕,中陰身被轉移到子宮中,從而在輪迴中再次開始它的旅程。
E. 結論
如前所述,一旦死者離開,我們可以做星算,看看哪些佛和菩薩最適合幫助心識獲得更多的福德,以實現吉祥重生。我們還將研究葬禮的吉祥日期,如何避免在不知不覺中冒犯當地的神靈,如龍和羅剎。這些都是我們傳統中的做法,旨在幫助死者的心識及其家人避免障礙。
格西拉表達了這樣的觀點,即了解生死輪迴和中陰狀態很重要,因為它讓我們了解如何在到達那一天時幫助自己,並幫助他人,做出正確的安排。最根本的是,它讓我們反思一切因緣的無常,並鼓勵我們永遠行善道,善待他人,而不是因無知而傷害他人(錯誤地相信我們是真實存在的實體)。幫助我們反思因果法則的重要性,我們的作為和/或不作為對我們業力的影響,並給予我們在輪迴中駕馭生活的勇氣。
格西拉在課程結束時表示這將是牛年本季佛法講座的最後一場,並感謝大家支持這些講座,無論是出席的聽眾還是閱讀這些教義的筆記的讀者。
我們下一季的佛法講座將在 2022 年 2 月 19 日星期六在虎年繼續,屆時我們將專注與講述創造更多功德的不同方式,並淨化我們過去的負面業力,包括講解懸掛經幡等儀軌。
格西拉和中心,祝大家新年快樂、身體健康、萬事如意,願虎年帶給大家成功、身體健康、吉祥如意,願過去的障礙和負面種子被去除和淨化。
願此教法的功德為你們所有人、你們的家人和所愛的人帶來利益。
Maha Tare 團隊